The Love Bug
by kittsbud
Summary: Someone is sending Chloe roses with the initials CK...or are they? COMPLETED!
1. Default Chapter

**The Love Bug **

Chloe Sullivan shivered as she pulled her car up to the rear gate of Turner Enterprises, and she suddenly wished she hadn't listened to the tip she had been given. It was a cold night, and the moon's silhouette played across her rounded car hood like some giant soccer ball in the prevailing sky. _Great, I come all the way out here and then chicken out because I watched some cheap horror flick last night! _

She pushed away the urge to restart her engine and instead climbed from the soft-top with her purse in hand. Her contact had insisted that the Turner group of companies were continuing some of Luthorcorp's abandoned projects, one of which involved meteor rocks and experimental fertilizer. The mention of it had brought the mysterious level three to mind, and Chloe just hadn't been able to resist the challenge. _So why am I getting the creeps before I get near the building? _

Somehow it seemed unlikely that anything secretive was going on here. This had been a pretty low-key facility even in its hay day. Now, mostly the place was used for storage- or so Turner Enterprises said. The thing that baffled Chloe was the fact that there didn't even appear to be any security around the place_. Oh well, you're here now Sullivan, may as well take a look. _

Chloe moved forward, climbing over the gate where her VW was parked without even being challenged. The fact added to her suspicions that this was a wasted trip.

The gate groaned as Chloe's weight balanced on its old wooden timbers for a moment, and then the intrepid reporter was over and nearly at her objective. The closest building was the one her contact had singled out as the 'doer of evil', but right now it looked as decrepit as the barrier she had just scaled_. I wish Clark were here…_

Chloe had once been infected with something at Luthorcorp that made everyone in her presence tell the truth. The side effect was almost death. Now, memories of that time and her savior flooded back. It wasn't just that Clark always came to her rescue that made her want him near, though. Clark Kent was special to Chloe, even if he would never return the feelings.

Thoughts of his tall, handsome features and boyish, innocent grin spurred her on_. I can't have Clark, but I can sure have this story…_

Chloe looked around in the dull light, searching for an entry point into the facility. "Why oh why can't you share my feelings, Kent?" The whispered words gave courage to the spunky blonde as a surge of fear began to well in her stomach. "I mean it's not like you don't know I love you…" _Yeah right, keep blabbering about Clark and go get yourself caught with all the noise, Sullivan! _

Chloe touched the wall of the structure she was now in front of, and felt the brickwork was warm to her fingers. It had to mean someone was using the old place. The idea both terrified and excited her. Without thinking more, her investigative instincts pushed Chloe to the corroded metal side entrance that was obviously once used for deliveries.

On the ground she noted the first true evidence that her contact might be right after all. Scuff marks in the dirt, and a fresh elongated scratch along an old section of concrete meant the double doors had recently been opened. _So, how do I get in there?_ _Where are you when I need you, farm boy?_ She couldn't help but wish Clark was psychic and would come running. _Well sometimes it feels like he is… _

Something squealed inside the old Turner plant, something like metal tearing into more metal at high speed. Chloe stepped back instinctively, sensing the noise was not a natural one. More sounds came from the doorway, and suddenly the reporter decided that she had outstayed her welcome.

Backing up, Chloe began to run for her life back to the gate and her car. The short distance seemed much further as she retraced her steps in desperation. Breathless, Chloe reached the barrier just as the crescendo from within erupted in all its glory.

An explosion ripped through the double doors like a tidal wave washing away some waterfront home. A spire of green fire shafted up into the Kansas sky, sending jets of flame spreading out and encapsulating everything within the building perimeter.

Chloe was lucky to have simply made it to the gate. The ensuing wall of pressure from the blast pushed her forward, and her body slammed down hard on the hood of her little car. Its suspension rocked with the weight of her body being propelled heavily onto it, and then all that Chloe remembered was a hellish green fallout raining down from the now emerald green heavens. _Clark…Clark…_

Chloe sat at home the next morning and wished there was someone she could tell her tale to, but after she had awakened out by the plant it had occurred to her that on this occasion silence might be a better idea. Right now, all she kept doing was replaying things in her mind about the night before.

When she had come too the whole area had looked like nothing had happened. Well the plant was blackened and charred, and the signs of the explosion had yet to be covered up, but the strange green aura had dissipated, and any spores or remnants of its presence had apparently been 'cleaned'_. So why have they left me lying here? Am I getting paranoid? Did any of that even just happen?_

Chloe shook her head and realized there was a gash across it, and a small trickle of blood had pooled onto her gleaming hood's paintwork. She rubbed at the wound absent-mindedly as her head began to throb_. Is this hangover from the blast, or the green mist?_ Again, Chloe feared the after effects she had once encountered at Luthorcorp.

She looked at her watch and swiftly noted over two hours had passed since she had blacked out_. Something sure happened…_

DING! DING! Chloe looked up from her reminiscing to realize someone was at the door, and that she was late for school. Whether it was the blow to her head, or worrying about the mists after effects, she had pulled a Clark Kent and was not only late for her first class, she had already missed most of it.

"Great, I get some super-lethargy effect from the meteor rocks, while all the other freaks get some cool power!" The reporter scowled as she tugged open the front door, to find Ed Morgan from the local florists waiting for her.

"Hi, Chloe." The elderly man smiled warmly and pushed a huge bunch of red roses in her direction, "I guess some guy really wants you to know how he feels!" Ed winked and tapped the card attached the massive blooms. "I should grab this guy, he paid for the most expensive we have…"

Morgan backed up slightly at Chloe's bewildered gaze, and didn't wait for her to read the attached note. After taking over Nell's flower shop's business, he had seen many a happy girl grab his blooms after their man had spent a bundle on pleasing them. Chloe had amazed him with her bizarre reaction.

Once Morgan had retreated, Chloe took the roses inside and flipped the card over to read what had been written. She didn't recognize the handwriting, but the two solitary initials seemed to say it all…CK.

Chloe's face lit up and she bristled with a sudden gush of emotions. Clark had finally seen that she had feelings for him! Abruptly, Chloe paused and deflated after her moment of joy_. Why now? Why send flowers so out of the blue? Its not as if he even knows I was almost 'Green-fried Sullivan' last night!_

Determined to find out what Clark was suddenly up to, Chloe grabbed her purse and coat, and jogged out to her car. The smear of blood on its hood reminded her of the tumble she had taken, but she brushed it aside. Clark Kent's affections were much more interesting, even if there was something very suspicious going on.


	2. The Love Bug Part 2

"Clark?" Chloe jogged down the school corridor to catch up with her 'Romeo'. "Clark, wait up!"

Clark finally turned and wondered why Chloe would suddenly require his attention. It was probably some story for the Torch, but he would never refuse her a hand if he could help out. "Hey, Chloe. What's up?"

The towering teen slipped his bag over his shoulder and was surprised to see Chloe frown at him. He knew he had a knack for annoying girls rather than wooing them. Lana was the evidence of that, Chloe too at one point after the Spring Formal, but he really didn't know why he might have disgruntled the normally affable reporter right now.

"I think we need to talk about what you sent me this morning, and what it means?" Chloe raised a brow, and couldn't believe just how blasé about the whole thing her friend was being. "You know, the flowers?" She tried to remind him.

This time it was Clark's turn to frown. "Flowers?" For a moment he thought Lana may have received a bouquet and Chloe was presuming he sent them. The trouble was from Chloe's expression it was more than that. "What flowers?" He dared to ask.

Chloe put her hands on her hips and held back the urge to slap Clark right across the face. _What am I doing? I never lose it this quickly normally. Get a grip, Sullivan! _"You sent me roses this morning. I still have the card off them in my car as proof." She quelled the strange temper she was feeling while she waited for his reaction.

"It wasn't me, Chloe." The total look of innocence as Clark tugged his bag back when it slipped from his muscular shoulder was very convincing. "Maybe you have a secret admirer?"

"No, I don't!" _I want you dammit! Why can you never see that? Or maybe now you're just regretting sending those flowers?_

Chloe grabbed Clark by the plaid sleeve and virtually began dragging him to the school's parking area. To his credit, the teen allowed the tiny reporter to tug him along without putting up much resistance. This was a puzzle he needed the answer to as much as Chloe did.

The lot was mostly quiet. Chloe's little VW sat in the corner right where she had left it.

"Chloe, I still don't get this…" Clark looked up to the nearest building realizing he would be late for yet another class if Chloe didn't hurry. "Did Pete put you up to this because I said he should send Amy Harcourt roses?" A playful look crossed his face and he expected his tormentor to fess up.

Instead, Chloe yanked open her car door and fumbled around in the glove box. She was acting very out of character, and it was then that he saw it. Splattered across the soft top's hood was some brown dried substance that Clark couldn't help but think was blood.

He zeroed in on it just to be positive, but there was no way to tell for sure if it was Chloe's, or maybe an animal she had hit. "Chloe, did you have an accident in your car?"

Chloe whirled about, just as she grasped the tag from the blooms in her left hand. "I…um…no. Why?" She caught Clark's gaze just before he realized he was staring at the car's hood. "You think I hit my head, don't you?" Forcing the note from the flowers under his nose, she swiftly became angry again. "Well, explain this lover boy! Or were these meant for Lana and I got them by mistake!"

Clark shied back and took the note even though he was totally aghast at Chloe's wild attitude. He checked the small card, and although it had his initials, it definitely wasn't anything close to his handwriting. "I really didn't write this, Chloe!" He pleaded, and then asked more softly, "Are you sure nothing's wrong? You haven't had an accident? You were later than me for school today, and for once it wasn't because you were in the Torch's office, I checked earlier."

"I was just up late working on a story!" She retorted, some of the fire dwindling from her demeanor. "I was on a case!"

"And the blood on your hood?" Clark moved in front of the car and gestured to the brown stain. "Don't tell me it isn't yours, Chloe."

Chloe's face turned to exasperation, and she finally decided to tell her friend what had happened. Not that she was going to admit she'd made the whole flower business up. No way was he getting out of it with another Kent famous excuse of the week, even if it did sound plausible she'd jumped the gun with the roses. "I went over to Turner Enterprises last night and there was an explosion. I was thrown off my feet is all. Nothing life threatening. Now, back to the flowers?"

"An explosion isn't life threatening?" Clark moved to Chloe and took her by the shoulders, suddenly concerned she'd been more seriously hurt than she realized. He scanned her head while he continued talking, but there was nothing more than a slight gash to worry about. "Why isn't there anything in the Ledger about an explosion anyway?"

Chloe didn't know whether he believed her, or thought she was hallucinating. Either way, he was still denying the roses. "Maybe Turner Enterprises doesn't want their dirty meteor experiments coming out in the open…They're getting as bad as the Luthors."

Clark's eyes flashed with more sudden fear. "Meteor rocks were involved? Chloe you know what those things can do!"

Chloe did know, she'd been there first hand on too many adventures to even think about it, but no way was she a meteor freak and imagining all this. The very idea that he could think as much angered her even more and she stormed back towards the Torch in temper. "I thought you loved me, Clark…I actually thought you finally cared…"

Her words echoed in Clark's mind like a last lament, and as he watched the feisty reporter leave, in his heart he knew he had to discover what was going on.

Pete Ross high-fived his best friend, and then spun into a seat at the Talon on the opposite side of the table. "Clark, what's happening, man? It must be something big for you to pull me off my date with Amy."

Clark looked sheepishly around and then down at the table's surface. It was hard to tell Pete about Chloe, but he was the only one who might be able to help. After recounting what he knew, Clark at last looked up expectantly.

Pete whistled. "You think Chloe has been infected with something like at Luthorcorp that time?"

"I don't really know…" Clark kept his voice low, noticing Lana was scooting around the room with a tray. Right now, she was the last person he wanted hearing his suspicions. "But what if she is doing things and doesn't even know it? Maybe a concussion from the blow or something?" He toyed with his fingers, abruptly not wanting to let his gaze fall anywhere for fear of his ideas being realized through his guilty expression.

Pete guessed anyway. "You mean, maybe the evil green Kryptonite has struck again." He hunched forward. "Dude, what if this thing she encountered turns out to be some kind of love bug! I mean she is unconsciously trying to get the guy of her dreams…" There was a twinkle in Pete's eye even if he was trying not to joke.

"Love bug?" Clark groaned at the very idea. "Pete, stop looking at me as if you think we could patent this thing! We need to help Chloe, not improve all the guys at Smallville High's love lives!"

"Okay, okay." Pete waved a hand in apology, but still kept the project in mind for a later date. Meteors normally turned things bad. If this was finally some emerald green love potion with no evil side effects, well why shouldn't he market it?

Clark saw his chums eyes narrow and swatted him. "Pete!" Then he climbed from his seat and tugged at his friend to follow. "Come on, we have work to do. I can't have Chloe thinking I'm messing her around."

Pete joined Clark as they bounded out into the street, heading right to the flower shop next door. "Say, Clark?" He waited as his alien friend turned around, obviously expecting some fun comment. "What if it's not Chloe who's doing things and then forgetting? What if it's you?"

Clark ignored Pete's remark and simply frowned at his friend while continuing into the flower shop. As he approached the counter he noticed Shirley Morgan arranging a bouquet at the back of the room, which meant Ed her husband was still out on deliveries.

"Hi, Mrs. Morgan, I was wondering if you could help me out with a problem." Clark looked back at Pete with a glare that said go along with what I say.

Shirley Morgan smiled sweetly and left her flowers to join the two teens. "Why, Clark, I haven't seen you in here for a while. What is it, girl trouble and you need a quick bunch of my blooms to say sorry?"

Clark flushed a little. "Um, no ma'am, it's kinda the opposite in fact. Someone sent Chloe Sullivan roses from your store and put my name on them."

Mrs. Morgan realized where he was leading. "And you didn't send them?"

Clark shook his head. "I was wondering if you could tell me who did? I've seen the card and it has my initials, but I didn't write it…"

Shirley Morgan scooted to the shop's pc and quickly brought up the screen where she logged all her orders. As she scanned the page she looked over her glasses at Clark and Pete. "I can't tell you who sent the flowers. I have to keep my customers privacy. What I can tell you is I wrote out the card, because the order was e-mailed in this morning, and payment was made with a credit card…"

Clark glanced at Pete who was eyeing him suspiciously. _He thinks I sent them! _"Thanks, Mrs. Morgan. I guess I'll have to forever wonder who sent the roses."

The elderly woman obviously wished she could say more. What she didn't realize was that Clark was busily using his x-ray vision to see through the flat panel monitor and view the content the other side the screen. What he saw surprised even him. The order for the flowers had come from Chloe's own e-mail address, and had been charged to Gabe's account at the shop. It was no wonder Mrs Morgan hadn't wanted to say anything, because it appeared Chloe really had sent herself the roses!

"C'mon, Pete," Once he'd seen enough, Clark hurried his friend back out onto the high street and explained what he'd just seen. "Still think it's me who is forgetting things?"

Pete shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked. "Well you could just be making up what you saw…but I guess I'll trust you on this." He glanced up as Clark paused to throw his bag in the Kent truck and then jumped behind the wheel. "So what are you going to do now?"

"The only thing I can. I'm going to confront Chloe with what I know and hope she agrees to get some help." Clark tugged the heavy driver's door shut with a thunk and then sighed. "I'll catch you later, Pete. Wish me luck!"

Pete watched as the pick up trundled off down Smallville's High Street and was glad he wasn't the one about to confront Chloe.

Chloe had stormed home after her earlier meeting with Clark. It wasn't even the fact he denied sending the flowers that bothered her now. It was the idea that he presumed she was going crazy.

She pushed her door key hard in the lock and rammed open the door with a mighty shove. "Bump on the head, what does he think I am?" She huffed some more and then barged into the kitchen, throwing her car keys down and then stopping mid-step.

Gabe, her father was home early and was scratching his head in disbelief at what had just arrived by courier. "Honey, I think someone has a crush on you." He waited to see if Chloe had an explanation, but his daughter's jaw simply dropped open and she was unnaturally quiet.

The kitchen was full to the brim with yet more flowers, this time from an out of town florist. Several huge fluffy bears holding love hearts intermingled the bouquets, and two huge cards in the middle bore the words 'I love you…CK'.

"That's it!" Chloe eventually screamed. "I've just had enough of Kent the charmer!" She spun around and made a dash for the door, only to stumble straight into Clark's naïve arms.

Clark looked around and his jaw matched Chloe's from only moments earlier. "Chloe, we need to talk…"

The tiny blonde reporter glowered then glanced at her dad and nodded before barrelling outside after Clark. Gabe couldn't help a smirk back at what he thought was most definitely a lover's tiff brewing. _Lord help Clark, if Chloe's anything half like her mother… _

"I suppose you and Pete think this is still funny?" Chloe's arms wafted up in temper, but Clark grabbed them and took a much more serious tone now that he was out of Gabe's earshot.

"Listen, Chloe, I visited the florist's from this morning, and those roses were ordered using your e-mail address and your dad's account." He waited for a reaction and Chloe's furry seemed to ebb a little. "You have to see how this looks after what you told me happened last night."

"You think I've gone nutso with the rest of Smallville's finest meteor freaks!"

Clark let his grip tighten on her ever-so-slightly. "If you didn't order those flowers, and I didn't, then who did?"

Chloe still appeared skeptical. It was pretty obvious she hadn't ruled out Clark was still the culprit, but at least she was considering other possibilities now.

"Does anyone else have access to your e-mail address or your dad's account?" Clark prompted.

"No!" She wavered, suddenly unsure, "except I can send mail from my PDA. My dad just got it me. It's like the one Lex bought Lana," She screwed her nose up, hastily adding, "except it isn't pink…"

"Where is your PDA right now?" Clark was clutching at straws, but he really wanted to believe Chloe wasn't losing it.

"It's in my car." Chloe moved over to the VW and realized she'd left her keys in the house, "I forgot and left it charging in there last night, but it's been locked whenever I've gotten out. No one could get in and use it…"

Clark rolled his eyes and jogged over to the little red car. He leaned low, shading his eyes to see inside. Sure enough the device was still in its cradle charging, but that didn't mean anyone hadn't gained access to it. "Chloe, your car's a soft top. It's not exactly the greatest thing to leave things like that on show in. Getting in couldn't be easier than just tearing your top."

"But it's not torn!" Chloe walked around her prized vehicle and checked for signs of forced entry however small, but there were none. "Besides, what would anyone get out of sending me flowers and stuff on my own PDA from you? It's kind of lame." _Are you trying to get out of this, Kent?_ She stared at his sinewy frame, _Boy do I love you. Why oh why can't you just say you sent the roses! _

Of course no one could here her thoughts. Instead, Clark pondered the facts. Either Chloe had been affected by the evil green meteor menace, or someone was trying to make it look like she was losing her mind. He stepped back from the window of the VW and offered his best explanation apart from insanity.

"What if someone wants you out of the way?" He crossed his arms. "If they think you saw something over at the Turner plant, maybe people wouldn't believe you if they thought you were losing your mind."

Chloe bit her lip. "I didn't see anything but some whacked out green explosion. And I can't prove it."

"Maybe they don't know that," Clark pointed out, "or maybe they just decided not to take any chances."

It seemed too contrived to Chloe, but it was either that, or think Clark was going insane. For now she thought she preferred the first option. "I'll grab my keys and go check the place back out. I'm betting they've totally gutted the place by now though. Are you coming too, Mr. Innocent?" She asked, diving back into the kitchen for her car keys.

Clark knew he had to go to prove he hadn't sent the blooms, and try to solve the mystery, but now he had another worry. If Turner Enterprises really had been experimenting with Kryptonite, he'd have to watch his step very carefully.

"I guess someone has to watch what your doing." He quipped, hoping Chloe really wasn't losing her mind.


	3. The Love Bug Part 3

Chloe pulled up at the plant just as it was getting dusk. She didn't know how, but somehow the day had just flown by without her even noticing it_. Maybe it's because I missed most of my school day?_

Clark noticed her strange look. "Everything okay?" He asked worriedly.

Chloe nodded and was glad that tonight Clark was with her. She instinctively took out the PDA from its cradle and stuffed it in her purse, subconsciously thinking no one would get the chance to use it again…if indeed they ever had. "It looks even more deserted than last night," She noted glumly. "What if the place is empty?"

Clark climbed out and scanned the structure with his x-ray vision. As far as he could tell it was very empty, although there were the odd areas that appeared as dark, black holes to him_. I guess this place has some lead around._ He surmised.

"Do you have a flashlight, just in case there's no lighting in there?"

Chloe scurried to her trunk and readily supplied a safety lamp she carried in case of a break down at night. "I was about to go through those doors when I heard something and had the good sense to run." She pointed out the entry and they both climbed the wooden barrier to gain entrance.

Clark could feel Chloe shivering as she held tightly to his arm, but he didn't mention it. Instead, once they reached the doors, he tugged at them before Chloe had chance to try. If they were locked they could spend all night looking how to get in, and that wasn't necessary because of his super-strength.

The doors gave under his power, but they had indeed been locked. Clark shrugged, pretending otherwise. "I guess they didn't leave anything behind worth protecting."

Chloe's frown said it still appeared strange to her, and she made a mental note to check the lock herself if she came back this way. "So, where do we start?"

"I'll go check through there, it looks pretty dark…maybe you should wait here in case we need to make a quick exit." Clark shone the light towards what seemed to be a large open room akin to Luthorcorp's mysterious level three. What had once been housed there was anybody's guess, but from where stood it looked empty now.

He couldn't see much beyond what Chloe did though, because it was this ground floor section that appeared to be shielded. That in itself was a worrying thought, and he didn't want Chloe putting in any un-necessary danger.

As usual, Chloe disagreed. "Hey, are trying to outdo me on this story?" She swatted her towering partner and was about to take the lead into the mystery room, when something else caught her attention.

A lone computer terminal sat on the floor along with a screen and a few other office items that looked as if they had been packed ready for transport. "Looks like they haven't quite cleared house yet, which is kind of suspicious…" Chloe couldn't resist the challenge. "If there's still power here maybe I can boot this thing up and take a peak..." She began rooting through the packed items and then searching for a power socket to plug the machine into.

"Fine, I'll go check the room. You can stay here and play computer nerd." He shot her the smile that surely belonged to some Greek god, and then hurried to his target before Chloe changed her mind.

Clark walked up to the opening with trepidation. Anything his x-ray vision couldn't permeate always made him nervous that way. He shone the flashlight in an arc, trying to pick out what could be so important to shield in an old building like this. _Why would Chloe bother with some tip about a dump like this? Unless she was already on to something… _

He moved onward as gray bare walls were all his light seemed to detect. Then, without warning it hit him. Even though he couldn't see it, there was Kryptonite or a derivative nearby.

Clark's knees buckled, and the light in his hand clattered to the floor with a harsh rattle and went abruptly black. He could feel the evil mineral sending spikes of radiation down every vein and sinew of his body, and as usual it hurt like hell_. I should have known this could happen. Chloe encountered the stuff here only last night. What was I thinking? _

"Clark?" Chloe's voice cut through the dark cavern-like room in concern. She had heard the noise and realized the flashlight she had given him had gone out. "Clark, are you alright?" She poked her head around the doorway, and somehow once her eyes had adjusted she spotted his agonized silhouette on the ground.

She didn't wait for his reply as it sank in he may be hurt, and never once did she think someone could be lying in wait for her, so great was her worry. As she reached his side Clark groaned, both with the pain and at his own stupidity for being caught out.

"Need to g-get out of this room." He almost slurred his every word.

Chloe fumbled at his side and retrieved her light. She tapped it a few times and magically it came back on, shedding new illumination on their predicament.

Clark was sprawled across a concrete based section of floor, with his head right in front of several large vats. He was struggling to speak, and was obviously in some kind of pain as he clutched his temple with one hand.

It never occurred to Chloe that the thing troubling him was actually in the huge liquid containers close by. Instead, another thought came to mind, and it terrified her_. No one hurt Clark, he just collapsed! Maybe he is sick and didn't even remember he did those things with the roses earlier. Oh God! What if he has a tumor or something like Ryan did? _

"Its okay, Clark. I'll call an ambulance, you just stay still." Chloe bit her lip and then was relieved as she recalled she'd brought her PDA/phone in with her. She used the glow from her light to help find it in the darkness, all the time keeping a watchful eye on her man.

Clark rolled onto his side, trying to put more distance between his skull and the offending vat, but it didn't work. The more he resisted the harder it became to stay conscious.

"C-Chloe, call m-my dad…"

The frightened reporter noted Clark looked strange, and not just because he was growing pale. _His veins look like they're gonna pop through his skin! I need to hurry…_She dialled 911, ignoring her friend's weak pleas not to.

The phone hissed back at her with annoying regularity. Chloe didn't need to check the screen to know there was no signal. "I need to go outside and try and get this thing to connect." She pulled off her tiny jacket and stuffed it under Clark's head, but it was a wasted gesture, because she wouldn't be going outside, and Clark wouldn't be staying where he was.

The sound of a large engine labouring made Chloe pause in her actions, and begin to panic. It was faint at first, but then grew ever louder as it neared their location. It was a truck on Turner Enterprises property, and it was probably coming to collect the last of the evidence…right where they were sitting.

"Clark! Someone's coming. You have to try and get up!" Chloe prodded her sick friend, but his legs were just too weak to move. Even the urgency in her tone didn't rouse his confused brain and paralysed muscles.

He moaned softly at her touch, and then appeared to swim in and out of conscious thought. "I thought it was Pete, I was so sure he'd s-sent the r-roses…" Clark's eyes rolled back under his eyelids and he shivered, making the word 'tumor' rise in Chloe's thoughts again.

_Great! He's delirious or worse, and we're about to get caught by some Turner goons!_

Summoning all her strength, Chloe grabbed Clark under each arm and attempted to drag him across the floor. If they couldn't escape or call for help, then they would have to try and hide till the people left again.

Chloe huffed and panted at the exertion it took to move her well-built friend just a few steps, but she wouldn't give in. The nearest place to find refuge was straight behind the closest vat. It seemed quite a distance when time was against her, but Chloe made it just as the plant's outer doors opened.

The visitors might not know they were here if they'd used the main gate, because as before, Chloe had parked her VW at the back entrance. She breathed heavily, as did Clark even though he hadn't done any of the work. He seemed to be getting sicker, but until the two men who had just arrived left, there was nothing she could do but keep him quiet.

Chloe thought it would have been an easy task after dragging him, but Clark's delirium had gotten worse since she'd moved him. _What if it's some kind of brain haemorrhage? I'm so useless!_ She felt her own pulse pounding through her body with fear, but not for her own safety.

"Chloe…didn't send the f-flowers…" he groaned but his eyes remained unfocused, "Not my fault…K-kryptoni…"

"Shush!" Chloe gently put a hand over his mouth, careful not to cover his nose and hamper his already weak breathing, "we have to stay quiet," she whispered. But of coarse this close to concentrated meteor rock residue, Clark didn't hear her.

Two men walked into the room were Chloe had been fumbling with the computer she'd found. One thick-set blonde individual noticed the pc had been plugged in and booted, and he pointed to it and nodded. His partner acknowledged he'd seen it too, but neither man appeared shocked.

"Just unplug it and get it packed." Mr. Blonde, as Chloe thought of him seemed to be in charge. "I'll start loading the other things out back. I wouldn't want our friends to see that particular evidence." He looked around a second as if he'd caught some sound.

Clark had the bad timing to add to the effect. "Mmn…" He mumbled through Chloe's half open fingers, "C-can't breathe…"

Chloe almost had a heart attack as Mr. Blonde looked straight in their direction. He had to have heard something, and there was nowhere to run. Not that Clark could run anyway, and she wouldn't leave him to their mercy.


	4. The Love Bug Part 4

"Hear something?" The goon messing with the pc had paused now and was peering at his cohort.

"I'm sure it's nothing. You know what our orders were…" Mr. Blonde appeared to wink and then jogged out the double doors to start his chores.

Chloe gawked. _That guy had to have heard Clark, and yet he shrugged it off so easily. This is getting weirder by the second._

Clark seemed to agree with her. "W-weird, Chlo…" His back arched in pain, "hurts so much t-though…" After his second bout of rambling he seemed to settle and fall into some kind of coma.

Chloe held his head in her lap and was forced to helplessly wait. It was already dark outside, and she dare not flick on the flashlight to check the time. Somehow she guessed correctly though, that by the time the two men left she'd been hiding with Clark for over two hours.

She inhaled as the truck eventually revved up in the night air, and trundled back down out of site and off the property. "Clark, I have to leave you for a moment now. I have to go outside and try to call for help."

The teen didn't hear her. He simply lay unmoving now, his chest rising so slightly it was hardly moving. Chloe's face contorted in despair, but she pushed away the urge to cry and hurried to get back in the open. _I have to get a signal, I have to! _

Jogging away from the building, the Torch reporter headed back towards the gate and her little car. She hit redial for 911 the minute her PDA showed a full signal. "Come on, come on…"

Despite the indication she was connected to the network, there was no dial or ring tone. Chloe checked the touch screen device, but it still displayed four bars- in other words a full signal. "What the…" She hit redial again, leaning on her car for support. Still there was nothing, not even a static hiss.

Was there something in the Turner building blocking her call? Chloe turned back and wondered just what it was she had stumbled on. _Clark could be dying in there, focus girl! _

She bit her lip, and then tried something new, it was a long shot, but anything was better than just standing around. With apprehension she dialled the Kent farm and was rewarded with an instant tone.

After four rings a familiar male voice answered. "Hello, Kent farm…"

Chloe felt euphoric. "Mr. Kent! Clark's sick, you have to come. He looks so ill, and I can't get through for an ambulance…"

Jonathan didn't let her finish. "Calm down, Chloe. Tell me where you are and Martha and I will be right there."

Chloe tried to get a grip and explain things, and when she'd finished she hurriedly told the father not to forget to ring for an ambulance, because Clark looked deathly ill.

Jonathan pulled the family truck up by Chloe's VW not ten minutes after receiving the call. Martha sat anxiously at his side, desperately needing news about their son. Chloe hadn't mentioned meteor rocks on the phone, but Martha hoped that was the explanation for Clark's collapse. Anything else was just unthinkable. _What if this has to do with Jor-El? _

Both parents followed Chloe inside and found Clark right where she had left him. He still had Chloe's jacket under his head, where she'd placed it again before going for help.

"Jonathan, is he?" Martha stooped down as her husband checked Clark over.

As soon as Jonathan saw the sickly green tinge to his son's veins he knew what the problem was. For Clark to have laid so close to Kryptonite for almost three hours now must have been agonizing. In fact, from his breathing and pulse it had nearly killed him.

"Help me with him, Martha. We have to get him outside." There had been a time when Jonathan could have carried Clark himself, but since his altercation with Jor-El that had all changed.

"Wait! You shouldn't move him. Didn't you call for more help?" Chloe waved her arms up, but both parents chose to ignore her and were attempting to drag Clark through the double doors. After frowning and almost asking if the world had suddenly gone mad, Chloe tried to help them move Clark into the pickup.

Once he was safely inside Martha let his head slump on her shoulder and put a hand protectively around him. Jon jumped in behind the wheel as Chloe looked on incredulous. "You're not taking him to the hospital, are you?"

The word hospital seemed to force a response from Clark, and he moaned and began to stir. Gradually his body was becoming aware that the evil green poison was gone. "Chloe?" He murmured slightly, and then his eyes opened blearily.

"Clark!" Chloe squeezed in beside Martha and pulled the truck door closed as if an eavesdropper might be hiding outside. "Is Clark sick? Does he have some illness that he's been keeping from his friends?" It was the only explanation she could think of.

"He'll be fine…" Martha didn't know what else to say.

"Mrs. Kent, your son's collapsed for no apparent reason, and has been unconscious for over two hours. How can you say he'll be fine?" Chloe hadn't wanted to worry his parents, but now she thought it was time they knew about his other little memory problem. "Clark's been forgetting things too. He sent me roses and didn't even remember he'd done it. This could be serious; he could have a tumor or something!"

"I don't have a tumor, Chloe." Clark managed to sit upright and pull lightly away from his mother's concerned grasp. "And I still didn't send those flowers!"

Chloe huffed but noted that he was at least looking more like his old self. The color had returned to his cheeks and he was coherent. "Clark, I'm not going anywhere till you see a doctor!" Chloe slapped the dash and glared at the Kents, daring them to argue with her.

Martha looked at Jonathan with an exasperated and totally uncertain expression. There was no need for their son to see a physician, and no way to tell Chloe why he didn't.

Jonathan gulped, about to come up with a half truth about allergies, but Clark handled the situation without any parental assistance.

"Chloe, it's not me that needs help." He still felt weak, but that would soon wear off, Chloe had bigger problems, "Back in the Turner building didn't you notice anything?"

The reporter was taken aback, but after careful thought admitted, "Well, I was finding out some pretty interesting things on that computer till you bit the dust back there." She pulled a face, making it clear she wasn't letting his sudden frailty drop.

"Not that," Clark looked at Chloe for the longest time before having to tell her. "I didn't even think about it, but just now it hit me. If that building exploded last night, how come the double doors were still on, there was no damage, and there were things like the pc still left inside?"

"I…I…" It was rare Chloe was ever lost for words. Right now was one of those occasions.

Jonathan and Martha had no clue what the little exchange meant, but they did know they should leave.

Jonathan cranked the truck's engine. "I think Clark's had enough for one night. We should be getting him home. You're welcome to follow, Chloe, because I think you two have a lot to talk about." The farmer raised a brow and Chloe nodded and hopped back out.

"I'll meet you back at the farm." She watched the pickup drive off, sending small dust whirls from its wheels, and then she pressed the remote to open her VW, and climbed in.

So far it had been the weirdest day of her life, and settling into the seat of the little car brought back some degree of normalcy. She sighed and drove off towards Hickory Lane and the Kents home. _What is wrong with Clark? _She looked in the rear view at the Turner building. _And why isn't there some damage, just like Clark said? I know what I saw…at least I think I do…_

Chloe didn't reach the Kents until Clark had already been home at least ten minutes. By then most of the ill effects of his ordeal had worn off. That didn't stop both Martha and Jonathan fussing over him in the kitchen.

"Clark, do you think you should go lie down for awhile, Sweetheart?" Martha handed her son a warm drink and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders even though he wasn't cold.

"No, I'm more worried about Chloe than myself." He cupped the mug of cocoa in both hands and looked from his mom to his dad, "I know why I was sick tonight, but Chloe is acting weird. It's like she said. She thinks I sent her roses!"

Jonathan poured out a mug of coffee and pulled up a chair next to his worried son. "You make it sound like a criminal offence, if you had. In my day, it was kind of nice for a guy to send a girl flowers…you should be flattered she thinks it's you." The farmer smiled knowing his son would cringe. Clark was usually a pretty good kid, but so far he had proven he had no aptitude for being a ladies man.

"Dad! I didn't send them, and the florist's records seem to show Chloe sent them to herself…'"

Martha frowned and put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "That doesn't make sense, Honey."

"You're darn right it doesn't!" Chloe breezed in through the open farmhouse door and tossed her purse on the kitchen table. She wasn't exactly angry at Clark or the Kents. In fact she was shaking with fear. "I didn't send those roses, and I think whoever did just followed me."

Instantly Jonathan was back on his feet and putting his hot drink to one side. "Did they turn up the driveway?"

Chloe shook her head and was almost in tears. Of all the cases she'd worked on, she'd never been so afraid. The plucky reporter was used to people not believing her Wall of Weird material, but this time it was going beyond that_. Maybe I am nuts! Maybe it's all the pressure of testifying against Lionel at the hearing next week… _

"I'd just left the Turner building when I noticed lights in my rear view mirror. At first I didn't think anything, but then the van seemed to be getting closer, and no matter what turn off I took it was always there. I even tried taking different roads, but it was tailing me, I'm sure of it." Chloe took a mug of cocoa Martha offered her gratefully.

"So if they never left you, where are they now?" Clark raised a brow_. If Chloe says they're parked up out in Hickory Lane I'll go pay them a visit. If there is really anyone that is… _

Chloe looked apologetic. "You won't believe this, but my car stalled and it wouldn't restart. I'm guessing they didn't want to confront me, but just tail me, because they were forced to drive right by…"

"Chloe, your car is almost new. Why would it just stall right at a crucial moment like that?" Martha looked skeptically at her husband. She was no mechanics expert, but it sounded strange and just too convenient. "Are you sure they were following you?"

"Yes!" Chloe almost hissed the word. She hated it when adults always dismissed what she had to say, and normally the Kents weren't like this. "I know what I saw, just like I know I didn't send any flowers to myself." She glared pointedly at Clark and he found he couldn't break her gaze.

Finally he decided to play along. He owed Chloe that much. "If something strange really is going on, it all goes back to Turner Enterprises. You didn't just go there because of that tip off did you? There's more to this…"

Chloe licked her lips, and realized it was time to fess up. Firstly though she had a question of her own. "You're right, I was working on something months ago that turned out to be a dead end. When I got the tip off it was too good to be true." She took a sip of her drink before it got cold, "Before I go into that though, I want to know why you almost died tonight? I mean are you okay now? Could it happen again?" There was love and concern in her eyes, and she put a hand lightly on his forearm to show her deep unease at what had happened earlier to him.

Clark gulped. He had naturally expected this, but even though he and his parents had come up with a likely excuse he hated having to half lie. "Chloe, it's kind of personal. I mean, not something I want anyone to know about." He shot his dad a glance and when Jonathan nodded he reluctantly continued, "I have an allergy…a really bad one. You know like some people are allergic to nuts, or dairy products?"

"Or bee stings?" Chloe knew where her friend was headed, and it did seem a likely story. You could easily die if the allergic reaction was bad enough, she knew that, but what was Clark allergic to? There hadn't been anything she'd seen inside the Turner building. _And I sure didn't see him get stung by anything._

"Please don't push this any further, Chloe. I've answered your question." Clark sounded almost forceful, as if there would be no more said about the matter whether Chloe pushed or not. "It's your turn to finish the Turner story."

The reporter sighed. Her tall, gentle, once naive friend was turning into a man and she hadn't even noticed. "Okay, well your not going to believe this, but seeing as you don't believe anything else either I'll give it a try." She inhaled and started from the beginning. "You know how I love weird stories? Well a few months ago I found out that Turner had once been under investigation in the seventies. It was far out, but they'd apparently been experimenting with something called bio-circuitry."

Jonathan raised a brow as he brought out the cookie jar and offered it around. "And just what exactly is bio-circuitry?"

Chloe cringed. "I have no idea," She looked apologetic, but had more to tell. "What I did manage to find out was that there were rumors Turner Enterprises stole the idea from some alien artefact that was supposedly discovered right near Smallville. That's why the plant was built here."

Strange looks passed between all three Kents, but no one spoke out loud. If anything, all eyes seemed to focus more on what Chloe had to say next.

She shrugged. "Of course this was all hearsay, but it seems strange the government suddenly put a stop to Turner's newest project back in the fall of 1975. Maybe they wanted the technology for themselves, or Turner stole it from officialdom in the first place?"

"That sounds like some movie, Chloe, not reality." Martha was having a hard time buying the facts, even though her own adopted son was not exactly from Kansas.

"I know, that's why I eventually dropped the article, but then I got the e-mail. Whoever sent it knew everything I'd discovered and more. I just had to check out that building, and things have been going screwy ever since."

Clark pondered what they'd been told. Chloe could still be under the influence of something she'd inhaled, or, she could be right. What if Turner Enterprises had been up to something? The Kawatche caves seemed to prove that he was not the first alien on earth. Maybe some technology had been discovered worth killing for? Or what if Turner's uncovered something unexpected like some alien virus and that's why the government closed them down originally? What if Chloe's 'love bug' was something contagious or deadly? There were just too many questions, and no real facts.

Clark stood from his chair and paced the kitchen. "If neither of us is going crazy, then we need to start looking for clues." He stopped in front of Chloe, "Did you find anything out from that pc you were trying to reconnect just before I passed out?"

Abruptly Chloe's face lit up. In all the mayhem she'd forgotten all about her little 'hack' but it had been a partially successful one. The program files had been encrypted, and with the limited time she'd had to work, all she'd managed to do was access a project file called 'Babysitter'. The thing was, from the whirling logo on the screen it was obvious Turner's may have restarted their experiments.

"I saw an access page for a project called 'Babysitter'." Chloe beamed triumphantly, "and what's more I'm not a science whiz, but the rotating symbol on the monitor sure looked like strands of some kind of DNA and circuitry entwined together…"

Jonathan set his mug down. "Hence the word bio-circuitry?"

Chloe jumped to her feet with a new sense of purpose. "That's my bet! Turner restarted their failed earlier experiments, and I got too close to the truth!"

Clark thought so too. The question was, had she been targeted for knowing too much, or did too close to the truth mean exposure to something much more sinister_? I have to help her either way. We need to solve this before one or both of us really lose our minds. _

"I don't think we should go back to that building, so where on earth do we start to solve this?" Clark watched both his parent's faces as they exchanged glances of concern. They really didn't want him involved in anything that could expose him to more Kryptonite, or worse to some aging alien experiment gone awry.

"How about we go over to the Torch and I show you the e-mail? At least you might begin to trust me then." Chloe stood up and found her limbs had finally stopped trembling. Now that Clark was offering help instead of skepticism it was half the battle. _He won't let anyone hurt me…at least as long as that allergy doesn't kick in again he won't._

"Sounds good..." Clark waited for his father's response before moving, even though he really felt he owed it to Chloe to help.

Jonathan sighed. "I don't have to tell you, your mother and I don't like this, do I?" The farmer's stern gaze told the teen he needed to be extra careful. "Just call us when you get there, okay?"

Clark nodded, and quickly followed Chloe back out to her car. The moon shone down on its hood, the splash of blood the only dull spot on its glistening paintwork. "Are you sure we should go in this thing? I mean, you said it stalled earlier?"

Chloe huffed and threw in her purse. "I doubt it was the car, more likely me. I was so nervous when I saw that I was being tailed." She hopped behind the wheel and cranked the ignition. The VW roared to life in a millisecond, seemingly proving her theory.

Clark shrugged and joined her inside. Minutes later they were headed back to town as if it was an ordinary Kansas evening. The only tell-tale sign that something was wrong was Chloe's intensely white knuckles as she gripped the steering wheel. Every few seconds the reporter glanced in her mirrors as frayed nerves convinced her they were not alone.

"Chloe, why don't I drive? You're too spooked to be thinking straight." Clark tried to keep his tone light, and shot her his best smile so she didn't take the remark the wrong way.

"I...um…" The reporter's grip appeared to strengthen even more, until no blood flowed into her already tingling fingers. "Clark, there's something behind us. I'm sure I saw a glimpse of a van. It doesn't have any lights on…" She glanced back again, but there was nothing only the dark country lane in view.


	5. The Love Bug Part 5

Clark turned swiftly in his seat and squinted. Perhaps Chloe couldn't see too well in the dark, but to him it really wasn't a problem. If there was something or someone shadowing them, he'd see it.

They took a sharp right, and seconds later his acute vision picked up on a van making the same turn. Normally, he'd think it was coincidence, but just like Chloe said the vehicle had no lights on. So, she didn't imagine it. _Does that mean Chloe saw something she shouldn't? Or that she's infected with something they'd rather not get into anyone else's hands? _

"Do you see anything?" Chloe bit her lip. "I know without lights…but I'm sure I saw…"

"I saw a flash of metal too. You're right, someone's back there." Clark reassured her, and then decided on x-raying the van to see just who was following.

The slight problem was that their stalkers had other plans, and chose the same moment to initiate them. The van's headlights suddenly kicked onto full beam, almost blinding Chloe with their abrupt glare. She took her eyes from the rear view and struggled to refocus on the road ahead.

The tiny VW veered across the road, and Clark was forced to avert his attention from the van to try and help. No sooner had he reached for the wheel however, and the car was back in the correct lane.

"They're gaining on us!" Chloe didn't need her mirror to see there pursuer anymore, they were so close she could practically smell their aftershave.

Clark whirled around again, but this time the van hit them with a direct nudge to the rear fender. "Take the next right, Chloe! They won't know the track to old Mrs. Henderson's house is there!" I _hope_, he thought. Another nudge jolted them in their seats, the impact coursing through the car's frame.

Chloe tugged hard over as soon as Clark offered her the escape option, but the Beetle didn't respond. It felt like the controls were locked in a straight line.

"Chloe turn!"

The reporter scowled and fought the wheel at the same time, but nothing happened. "It's not budging. That bump up the rear must have done something to my car!"

As Clark watched they zoomed past the concealed turn off and seemed to accelerate. He considered grabbing the wheel himself and using his immense strength, but something down Henderson's Lane stopped him. Flood water from a recent storm had converged on the old road and settled in a spot not a hundred yards from the hidden entry. With his abilities he could see the obstacle even through the thicket covered entrance, but if they had raced down it without him noticing things could have been nasty. _Not that careering down a road at over 80mph with no steering isn't already nasty. _

"Chloe hit the brakes." Clark's hand hovered towards the wheel, "facing these guys is a better option than flying off Loeb Bridge Lex Luthor style!"

"It's alright, I'm in control again." The reporter floored the gas and headed straight for the bridge.

Clark gulped. He didn't like the idea that the little car was damaged and their pursuers weren't backing off. Somehow he had to get an edge so they could escape. He looked around in the darkness for something he could use, and then it came to him.

Just over the bridge by the side of the road was a telephone pole. It was the old wooden kind, that shouldn't take too much felling with a quick, concentrated burst of heat vision. Without giving Chloe chance to query or watch his actions, Clark powered down the window and stuck his head out as if he were getting a better view of their hunters.

"Clark! What are you doing?" Chloe was now losing sensation in her hands, and daren't take her eyes from the pitch black road for a second, "What if they have guns for heavens sake!"

Clark ignored the remark and zeroed in on his own target. The base of the pole loomed closer as they approached the end of the bridge, and he narrowed his eyes for the shot.

It was strange how he had to mentally will his heat vision into action, and normally it hadn't been a problem to conjure up since Jonathan had helped him master it with 'scarecrow' practice. Now though, as Clark attempted to fell the phone pole, he found it wasn't going to be so simple. It was as if something was leeching away his energy without him even knowing it. _What the? _

The teen tried again, and this time some of his prolonged effort paid off. With a resounding crack the old wood gave way to searing temperature, and the pole crashed down heavily in front of the van. Its tires screeched to a halt as the front fender came into contact with the obstruction.

Feeling abruptly drained, Clark fell back into his seat and struggled to regain his breath. "I think we lost them." He finally panted.

Chloe scowled, but still wouldn't venture to look in the mirror. Her eyes were still readjusting after the last glance she'd risked, and it felt like she'd looked straight into the heart of the sun without protection. "Did you see what happened?" She noticed her friend was looking suddenly pale, "Are you alright?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay, and no, I didn't really see much."

Chloe didn't believe either statement, and she kept down the gas pedal even though they were now in the clear.

The school campus had never been such a pleasant sight to Clark as Chloe pulled to a halt in her usual parking spot. The nausea he'd felt back on the bridge hadn't really passed off, and he was glad to be able to climb out of the little car into the fresh Kansas air. After a moment to steady himself he looked around to see if they had been tailed. So far, there was no sign of the van, but that didn't mean anything. If these were true professionals, who knew how many different surveillance vehicles they had in use?

"Let's hope the e-mail is still on your computer," Clark raised a brow and put an arm protectively around Chloe as they walked up the stairs, "These guys probably have enough pull to erase anything…"

Chloe shuddered, but smiled. "I wasn't falling for that one again after the phone record business with Lionel!" She winked, but wouldn't say more until they were safely in the Torch office, and the door was firmly locked behind them.

As Chloe logged on, Clark leaned over her desk in anticipation of what he was about to see. The sapped sensation in his muscles had abated, but his worry had not. "You saved the e-mail somehow?" He asked as she tapped at several keys and accessed the internet.

"I hopefully did better than that," She hit another set of keys in quick succession and gave him the 'triumphant Chloe' grin. "Remember Mark the kid who got kicked out of school for hacking?" Clark nodded and grimaced as he guessed where things were going. "Well I kinda asked him to trace the mail before it got sucked into the black hole of cyber space by its sender…"

Clark almost rolled his eyes, but controlled the urge. This was far too serious for mirth. "And?" He edged closer, wanting to see the results before they even popped on the screen.

"And," Chloe beamed, "Mark didn't let me down! Look at this…"

An e-mail address that apparently belonged to a Doctor Karl Stern flashed up on the monitor. Chloe typed the name in for a further search and found a list of several Stern's in the local area alone, four of which were doctors of some variety.

"This is all too easy." Something didn't feel right. No one would make it so obvious if they were setting a trap. What was more fascinating was that Clark somehow knew the name Dr. Stern. It was something he'd seen, and was stubbornly stuck in the back of his memory and refused to come out.

Chloe sullenly nodded her agreement. No case was so simple to follow. "So, it's another false lead, or some sort of ruse." She narrowed her search nonetheless; unable to give up the chase even though she knew it was most likely bogus data.

"Clark…"

The reporter's strained voice and eyes that refused to leave the screen coincided with the return of Clark's own memories. Stern wasn't just any doctor. He was some kind of specialist who had worked for Sommerholt's research division.

Clark recalled the name from files he had read during his search for Ryan there, many months ago now, but still fresh in his mind. Chloe had discovered the same from her net search, and a little more about his resent activities.

"He worked for Dr. Garner!" The disgust in Clark's voice was on par with that he felt for Lionel Luthor, maybe more so. "Now this is maybe starting to make sense!"

Chloe wasn't impressed. "Worked for Garner being the operative word," She pointed to the newest information on the professional, "He died in an auto accident two weeks ago. Whoever sent the mail, I doubt it was him."

"But Garner specialized in memories and mind control!" Clark paced the office as he slowly began to sift through the puzzle pieces they now had. "Maybe Garner's work is being carried on, and who better to pick on than the two people about to testify against Lionel?"

"You think we're being set up, or even controlled?" Chloe abruptly became scared. It made sense, but that meant she really had sent herself flowers, didn't it_? I know I didn't, I just know I didn't! _

"Manipulated is maybe a better word, but we have to find out how they're doing it, and why they haven't just killed us."

"Maybe that comes next." Chloe looked up and bit her lip, "I know you think they did something to me out at the Turner place, but I swear I'm okay, Clark."

The teen didn't have time to answer. A notice blinked on Chloe's pc, and a chiming sound indicated she had new mail. With one click of the mouse Chloe opened up the new message, and was surprised by its apparent sender, and the abrupt wording.

LEAVE SCHOOL, REAR EXIT!!!!

The cursor blinked idly as both teens stared at the uppercase lettering and the sender.

"Chloe, that's your e-mail address…"

Chloe stifled the urge to thump her lofty friend_. I can read!_ "Excuse me, but did you just see me type this and hit the send button?" There was so much snark in her voice, Clark half expected steam to come out of her ears in an attempt to cool her overheated temper.

"Can you get Mark to trace this one too?"

Chloe nodded and began forwarding her request when the monitor blacked out. The screen was shortly followed by every light and electrical item in the office. "I think maybe now might be a good time to listen to that last e-mail…" She pushed back on her chair and stood up ready to run.


	6. The Love Bug Part 6

Clark grabbed the nearest phone and checked for a tone. The outside lines were all dead too. "Did you bring your PDA in here? We could call the police."

"I left it in the car again!"

In the darkness, Clark saw Chloe throw her hands up in exasperation at her own lack of forethought. "We never called my parents; maybe they'll call the Sheriff when we don't ring." While he spoke he used his x-ray vision to see right through the wall out into the open front yard.

Whoever had really sent the e-mail hadn't been kidding. The white van had reappeared and was idling by the nearest curb. Two strangers sat in the front, patiently waiting for them to exit. _So who sent the mail? Is it a trap? Are there two more goons out back? _

Clark kept away from the window, but allowed his eyes to wander to the right, searching for Chloe's car. If they could still make a dash for it, it might be a good emergency option. The only problem was the car had vanished. _That's how they were able to send the e-mail! They have Chloe's car…so how do we get out of this?_

Chloe broke his concentration with more sarcasm. "I hate to say it, but by the time your parents realize and get here, we're most likely going to be long dead or worse…"

"We have to move, Chloe!" Clark grabbed her arm and pulled her ungracefully towards the locked door. He didn't ask what the 'or worse' part of her last sentence might mean." They'll expect us to be in here. We should risk it and go out the back way." _And if they're waiting for us there, I guess I'll have to use my gifts in front of Chloe to save the day. That is, if I don't go weak again!_

"But it must be a trap!" _Whoa, now I am beginning to wonder if it wasn't Clark losing it about the flowers. How can he think going outside is a good idea?_ Chloe fumbled to unlock the door as her hands trembled with dread. In all the scenarios she'd thought of after saying she'd testify against Luthor, dying like this hadn't been one of them.

"Come on, we could put other people at risk if we make them come in the school after us."

Clark began jogging down the corridor and Chloe reluctantly followed. _He does have a point. Why does he always have to be such a hero?_ She thought.

Two minutes later both teens emerged into the shadows outside Smallville High's back entrance. It was dark enough in the shade not to be spotted, but they'd need to move out into the open to even think about escaping.

"Now might be a good time for your parents to arrive and prove me wrong about them getting here too late." Chloe whispered as she shot Clark a worried glance. "There's no way we can get across the yard without being seen. And if we do, then what?"

Clark pointed carefully to a small hedgerow the caretaker had recently trimmed. A light vapor trail was billowing from the other side in the cool night air. It was impossible to see the vehicle by any normal means, but Clark had used his x-ray vision to determine that it was Chloe's little VW, and what's more it's engine was idling even without any keys being in the ignition.

"We don't need to cross the yard. Your car is behind those bushes!" _The question is, who hotwired it, and why?_ He didn't voice his query, Chloe was freaked enough.

"Great, it could be just sitting there with a bomb taped to the floor, waiting for us to get in!"

_Well no, I already checked the floor, but I guess I should have x-rayed the engine bay too…_Clark squinted, about to resettle his studious gaze back on the car when a rumbling sound made him glance back.

Chloe had turned too, and was seriously in danger of emerging from the shadows; her inquisitive nature was so piqued. "I hate to say this, but isn't that sounding kinda like a truck?" An amazed expression crossed the tiny reporter's face as a brand new Mack DayCab Flatbed truck roared its way over the normally quiet school campus. Her jaw dropped almost as much as it had when she'd gotten home to hoards of flowers. "Okay, I give in. Maybe I am the one who's seeing things…"

"Nope, I see it too!" Clark pulled Chloe back from the edge of the gloom and watched as the truck's huge wheels and gigantic frame headed straight for the nearby hedgerow. It wasn't really hard to determine that it was Chloe's car that was the target. "They must think we're inside. We better keep low."

Chloe's fear turned to fury. "My car! I love that car!"

As she yelled out in temper the Beetle's engine revved hard and the VW shot forward, heading away from the main buildings as fast as it could accelerate. Its last minute dash was no match for the already hurtling truck, however and the heavy Mack slammed into the little car like it was a lightweight sardine can.

"Whoever sent you the mail must be in there!" This time it was Clark's turn to cry out as he realized what must be happening. Their phantom helper had just tried to play decoy and was paying a very expensive price. "I have to go try and help them!"

Clark dashed from his hiding place before Chloe had any chance of stopping him. As she watched, everything seemed to turn into some slow-motion nightmare.

The truck ground to a halt after pinning the VW to a classroom wall like a sledgehammer. Bricks toppled on its crumpled hood as the sheer brute force of impact began to take its toll on the building structure. Metal groaned and creaked in disgust as it was bent from its fabricated form into something resembling junkyard scrap.

Gasoline oozed from Chloe's car where the fuel tank had been ruptured, its nauseous aroma filling the area with highly flammable fumes. After an eternity-or what seemed like one, the flatbed revved again as its driver rammed the shift lever into reverse and frantically tried to escape the devastation he had caused.

Clark reached the scene just as the Mack sped back across the campus with its front grille covered in paint scrapes and dints. He had the chance to give chase, but it was never really an option. Someone must be trapped and hurt, maybe even dead in Chloe's car, and he had to do what he could.

Spinning around as the truck roared by, Clark set his sights on the remains of the Beetle as he jogged to its side. He could smell the gasoline as it ebbed from the torn tank, but it didn't deter him_. I can't let someone die for trying to save us!_

Just as the teen reached the car, a stray electrical spark caught the leaking fuel's edge. In a crescendo of heat and light, Clark managed one quick burst of x-ray vision before being blown backwards and into the air with the resulting explosion. As his arms flailed outwards and he landed with a grunt, only one thing raced through his disorientated mind. _There was no one inside! The car was empty, but…_

Any further thoughts on the matter were swiftly pushed away as Chloe raced to his side. "Clark!" The tiny blonde reporter fell to her knees and almost wept with joy to see her friend was still alive, "when I saw you so close and then the explosion…"

Clark stifled the urge to say he was okay. He'd said it so many times now it was beginning to sound repetitive, and besides, he didn't feel okay. Not one bit.

Somehow since the blast his weakness had returned. Not an all-draining sensation like being sat next to a pure meteor rock, but debilitating nonetheless. He struggled to pull his sapped body up and found he was panting with the exertion.

Chloe noticed in an instant. "I'll go get some help. I don't think you should move." She quickly fumbled to undo his shirt collar, and then looked him over for signs of injury. When there was nothing obvious she couldn't help but give him a slight hug.

"I'm not hurt, Chloe. I just need to catch my breath." Clark glanced over Chloe's shoulder to her still burning car. Eerie flames leapt from its smoldering frame, giving off an uncanny hue to the evening. There really hadn't been anyone behind the wheel, so where had their savior gone? _I guess they could have jumped clear…or is all this part of the plan? Maybe they really do want us to think we're going crazy!_ He squeezed Chloe's arms, returning her affection, and then gently pulled away.

The police would be showing up soon, and maybe their unwanted friend in the Mack truck might decide to come pay them a return visit and finish the job. Chloe was thinking the same thing. "I'll go get some help, but we shouldn't stay out here in the open."

"Give me a hand up, I can make it back inside." Clark shot her a reassuring glance, but had to lean heavily on the reporter's arm to stand up. Even then he wavered as his balance seemed strangely impaired. _What on earth is affecting me? I'm not near any rocks, not unless Chloe's taken to carrying one around in her purse! _

"I don't think you need to be going inside." A familiar voice, at least to Chloe, stopped both teens in their laborious attempt to get in the main school building.

Chloe winced before she even saw the face of the man behind them. It was most definitely 'Mr. Blonde' from the Turner building, and she doubted he was here for fun.

Clark raised a brow as they both turned around, but had no clue who the newcomer might be. "Chloe?" He asked, sensing her silence wasn't a good omen.

"I think," Chloe offered, "that this is one of our friendly neighborhood pursuers, and I'm guessing he's not too happy."

Mr. Blonde held a small Glock pistol and was pointing it in their direction. At his side was the other goon from earlier. Neither appeared in a sociable mood.

The gun wavered in Mr. Blonde's hand, "Into the van."


	7. The Love Bug Part 7

Clark and Chloe swiftly realized in their haste to watch the truck and Chloe's car, they'd missed the mysterious Dodge van pull up behind them. "What if we don't?" Clark dared.

The second man from the Turner building revealed the van's tire iron from behind his back. It was made from heavy duty metal for an arduous task, and as he brought it down hard on Clark's shoulder the teen was forced forward straight into the Dodge's open rear door. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth were he had involuntarily bitten into his own lip with the impact. Strangely, the pain from the blow seared through him too, as if he was still affected by the mystery ailment.

"No!" Chloe yelled out as Clark fell to his knees, but as she kneeled he was already picking himself shakily up. "You're going to kill us, aren't you?" Chloe couldn't restrain the loathing in her voice.

"Just get in the back or we'll finish you right here and now!" Mr. Blonde was getting angry at the holdup, and as police sirens began to scream their approach it became abruptly obvious why.

He let off a shot dangerously close to Chloe's temple and then gestured again. This time as the slug ricocheted off a nearby wall, neither teen dare risk disobeying.

Clark all-but crawled inside; taking a much needed steadying hand from Chloe. The second goon joined them, while Mr. Blonde climbed up front to drive.

"Do you think Red dumped the truck already? I mean, Garner isn't going to be happy his little 'babysitter' failed like this…"

Clark's ears pricked up at the name Garner and 'babysitter', and he waited to hear 'Blonde's' reply. Chloe was intently listening too, but was also concerned with her friend. She wrapped an arm around him, hoping he wouldn't try any more heroics_. First he got sick, then he got blown up, and now he gets bashed with a tire iron! Sheesh, not to mention we're in the back of a van being taken to our deaths. What a whacked out wall of weird kinda day!_

Blonde interrupted her rambling thoughts. "It doesn't matter about the truck. We did what we had to do back there. If Garner's angry, he's angry. We couldn't let it go on any longer. It was out of control." He looked in the rearview, and saw Chloe eyeing him.

Finally the plucky reporter couldn't resist a question. "Why kill us now?" Her eyes narrowed, "I feel like we've been manipulated and made to look nuts for a reason, but then to just murder us doesn't make any sense!"

The man in the back with the two teens glanced up, still wielding the iron in his hand like a bludgeon. "You were simply tools to Garner; the control elements in an experiment of untold proportions that he could try out his new theory on." He smiled, "The problem was he didn't expect his 'project' to play out quite the way it did."

"We didn't react well to his trial test?" Clark leaned forward with his arms folded. The early disorientation and weakness seemed to be wearing off again, but he didn't want anyone to notice just yet. For now he had to appear perfectly human, and in pain from the whack he's received_. What if I keep feeling sick because Garner exposed us to some kind of Kryptonite virus or bug? I know he used the solution in those tanks he dunked me and Lex in… _

Blonde laughed, and both Chloe and Clark noticed his sarcastic smirk as he glanced back at them. "Like I said, you were the control elements. And from what I saw the 'trial' reacted to you, not the other way around. In fact, it reacted far too well…that's why we had to act quickly. Something like that couldn't be let loose on an unsuspecting public. Garner will simply have to revaluate his research. He lost control right from the beginning."

Chloe scowled at the cryptic responses they were getting. _If they're going to kill us, they could at least give us some answers first. They always do in the movies! _

"You didn't squash Chloe's car to kill us, did you?" Clark raised a brow as he thought the pieces were coming together. "Whoever has been toying with us was Garner's little mind experiment gone awry. Garner wanted them to destroy our credibility as witnesses for Lionel, but instead they decided to play cupid, and eventually help us! What's the matter, is what they're infected with contagious? Is that why you have to kill us now too?"

Blonde huffed and shook his head. "Something like that, Kid…"

Clark gulped_. But the car was empty. Does that mean there's someone running around Smallville with some engineered Kryptonite mental bug? _The puzzle was getting more unfathomable by the minute, and minutes were something they were running perilously short of.

Chloe slapped the metal floor of the van angrily. "I should have known Luthor would be behind this somehow!" She scowled and then looked to Clark, noticing his pallor had improved somewhat. _So, he's feeling better- well at least till we die_. The van slowed, _Ugh oh, and that might be real soon!_

"Neither Lionel or Garner know you're doing this, do they?" Clark stalled for time as he scanned straight through the van's side panel to see where they were pulling up. It was a disused picnic area high school kids sometimes hung out at, but tonight it was abandoned save for the wildlife. A short distance from the clearing was a small pond that had once been used for fishing…at least till the meteor shower came. _They're going to dump our bodies in the water!_

Mr. Blonde turned off the ignition and spun around in his seat to face them. "Luthor and Garner won't complain. They wouldn't dare, we know too much about their facility. What's more, you were always expendable," He paused and looked at Chloe specifically. "Well at least the girl was…but that doesn't matter now. You've both seen too much."

"So the whole e-mail thing was to entice me to Turner's to be set up as this control subject thing? And then you guys followed me to see how I'd react?" Chloe gawked, "But what about the building? I saw it explode!"

The man with the tire iron laughed like some rabid coyote's bark. "You saw what Garner wanted you to see. A nice little display of advanced pyrotechnics coupled with a nasty green anesthetic mist. While you slept he…"

Mr. Blonde abruptly became annoyed with his mouthy partner and cut into his explanation. "That's enough!" The Glock pistol reappeared, "We don't have time to pamper them before they go swimming." He waved the weapon, indicating it was time to exit.

The man with the iron hopped out first, swinging the back double doors open with a metallic grunt. He gestured for both teens to follow his lead outside, and Clark pushed forward before Chloe had a chance to argue.

As Clark hopped out he seemed to go down on all fours, stumbling to his knees with a yelp of surprise. He rolled over and groaned, his eyes rolling back like they had in the Turner building. Mr. 'Tire iron' prodded the teen with the metal rod harshly in the stomach, but he simply moaned and rolled into a fetal position.

"Kid, you ain't fooling anyone with that trick." The man jabbed harder with his makeshift weapon.

"Clark!" Chloe fell onto her knees and began to panic. _It's just like in the Turner building all over again!_ "You don't understand! He was sick before. It must be something you've done to him!"

The irate reporter forgot all about the bad guys intentions to kill her and began scolding them like they were wayward puppies. While she chided 'Tire iron', she put a hand on Clark's shoulder reassuringly, and for the first time realized something was different. _He doesn't look the same as last time…_

Before she could ponder the situation further, all hell broke loose. Abruptly, and without warning, Clark regained his composure and rolled swiftly to his left. The reeling motion caught the man hovering over him off guard, and Clark knocked the bad guy off his feet.

The two grappled on the floor, but Mr. Blonde had quickly realized something was wrong, and had jumped from the cab as an armed reinforcement. "Don't you kids know when to quit!" He appeared angry that anyone should try to put up a fight to save their own life, and let off a shot to prove it, even though he hadn't yet got a clear view of what was going on from his position.

"Chloe run!" Clark deliberately brought his knee up with only a little more strength than a normal man, winding his opponent, but not causing any lasting physical damage. "Go, Chloe!"

Chloe bit her lip and was torn. In the split second she took to consider her options, Mr. Blonde's bullet whizzed past her head and slammed into a nearby tree. An inch long splinter of wood exploded from the bark and embedded itself in the reporter's arm, eliciting enough pain to force her into action. She dived behind the bur oak and into the thicket, just in time to avoid a second bullet from the incensed gunman.

While Mr. Blonde chased Chloe, Clark was finishing his own battle. Once the second man had gone after the girl, it was simple to win the fight. He could use his powers unhindered and no one would be any the wiser. He'd hated faking being sick again, but it was the only plan he could come up with on short notice that wouldn't involve blatantly using his gifts in public. _Some good it did me. Now that goon has followed Chloe with the gun! _

With the reporter's life as an incentive to spur him on, Clark brought his boot up into the bad guy's stomach, and launched his foe into the air with a decisive kick. 'Tire iron' found out the hard way what flying really felt like, and was only lucky that Clark had already picked his landing spot before he'd made his move.

The goon splashed down heavily in the nearby abandoned pond, and although he was gasping, sustained no lasting damage- at least not physically. _Just what did Garner do in that experiment? Did he lie to us too?_ He shook himself as he waded to the waters edge. _High School kids just don't kick like that… _

Clark checked briefly that his foe wasn't in any difficulty, and then whirled about at superspeed to chase after Chloe and her pursuer. The velocity he could travel at, it shouldn't take long to catch them up and overcome Mr. Blonde.

Whipping through woodland like a wraith in the darkness, the teen followed the trail of broken twigs and down-trodden undergrowth until he had almost reached his target. And then it came. A crack resounded through the night that even Clark didn't need super-hearing to evaluate. It was a gunshot, sharp and clear, followed by a second more muffled volley. _Chloe!_ He thought of the words he had already said so many times, for Ryan, for his father after his heart attack, and now for his best friend. _All my powers and I couldn't save them… _

Clark skidded to a halt, stirring up fallen leaves as he dug his heels in the ground to slow his momentum. No matter what was occurring there was always a chance. He scanned ahead, searching for the epicenter of the gunfire, and the first thing he saw surprised him.

A man's skeletal form carrying a rifle ambled into his field of vision, and Clark swiftly let his eyes zoom back to 'normal mode' as he realized who it was, and what had happened.

"Son, didn't your mother and I ask you to ring home when you reached the Torch?" Jonathan slung the Winchester over one arm, and Chloe appeared from behind his tall form and smiled apologetically at Clark.

"I guess I was wrong about your parents never making it on time, huh?" She shrugged, and then relief washed over her in one momentous tsunami. Arms outstretched, she ran straight to Clark and hugged him until his eyes almost popped out. "When I saw you go down again, and I ran and left you…I thought…" She looked up, finally releasing her grip, "Well I thought we were both as good as dead." Chloe pulled away, a thought swiftly crossing her overactive mind. "Say, just what was wrong with you back there?" Suspicion laced her voice.

Clark glanced at his now smiling dad and grimaced. "I was faking, Chloe. I knew it might be our only chance!"

His words were rewarded with a quick thump from the reporter, "Why you…I thought you were sick again!" Chloe grinned and then turned back to Jonathan in a more serious tone. "If it hadn't been for your dad, though…" she couldn't finish the sentence as more relief simply flooded out.

Jonathan sighed. Life would never be simple with Clark for a son. "I followed the van from the school," He explained, "Don't ask me how she knew, but your mother was insistent something was wrong, and then when you were late calling…"

Clark nodded with a thankful and yet apologetic look that said it all. Then a thought hit him. "The bad guy?" He queried, wondering about the two shots he'd heard.

Jonathan glanced back into the darkness and motioned with the tip of his rifle. "He's back there with a headache. The shots you heard were from his gun as he went down."

"Your dad wields that thing like a baseball pro!" Chloe's wittiness was returning now the pressure was off, "what about the guy you were struggling with?"

Clark stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged, then smiled. "I think he decided to be the one to go swimming after all…"

"When you two are done swapping jokes, would someone mind telling me what I missed? I mean, did you discover what all this is about?"

Jonathan guided the two teens back to where he'd parked the truck, and as Chloe explained what little they had found out, he grabbed some rope from the back and bound the still unconscious kidnapper he'd whacked with his rifle.

"I thought Garner was supposed to be comatose after the Sommerholt incident?" The farmer raised a brow and shot Clark a questioning glance. "Do you really think he's let some mind altering bug out?" The worry was evident in the strain showing on Jonathan's face.

Garner was known to meddle with Kryptonite, and if he'd created a virus or drug, then who knew what the side affects might be- even to Clark.

"From the way those guys were talking, I don't think Garner is comatose anymore, and I think Lionel might have played a part in this too." Clark shook his head in disdain, "so, now what do we do?" _We can call the police, but how do we mention a bug without sounding crazy, or worse getting examined by some doctor? _

Jonathan gulped as he climbed behind the pickup's wheel. "For tonight all we can do is report this as an attempted kidnapping. Maybe tomorrow you two can uncover more of the details once the Sheriff has those two safely behind bars."

Chloe huddled in the truck between the two men and shivered as the cool night-time temperature finally got to her. "And what if Garner or Lionel send someone else to finish the job in the meantime? And just where is the person who sent the flowers and took my car? They can't just have vanished!"

The questions were ones Jonathan didn't really have an answer to. If Luthor sent more goons then perhaps Clark could deal with them, but Garner might be a whole different matter. After the 'tank incident' at Sommerholt, who knew just how much knowledge of Clark he really had?

Sheriff Nancy Adams had been skeptical to say the least when yet again the Kents called her to some crazy incident. She didn't know why, but every time something came up involving that particular family, she was sure she didn't get all the facts.

It had been a long night, and she was glad now that she was pulling from their driveway and heading back to town. A radio call had come through only moments after she'd left the farmhouse, and it hadn't been good news. Someone had bailed the two 'kidnappers' already. _Why oh why do I get the feeling this is going to be yet another Smallville unsolved mystery?_ Even though the words were in her mind, her soft southern lilt was still evident.

A deputy had checked out several of the scenes the kids had mentioned, but there was nothing left to see. Even the remains of Chloe's car had vanished before anyone could scrutinize its charred remains too closely. That puzzle in itself proved both teens weren't entirely lying, but then again, it didn't prove some wild abduction theory either_. Probably trashed the car themselves and now need an excuse for the insurance company!_ The Sheriff didn't really believe that, but it was better that accepting the alternative that Lionel Luthor may once again be manipulating the town she was supposed to be in control of.

Adams keyed her mike and called into dispatch. "Did you get the APB out on the Sullivan vehicle?" _Or should I say wreck, if the reports from the school campus are to be believed?_ She waited at an intersection, and then continued, "I want that car found."

It was an order no one would ever be able to fulfill.

Clark stood in the kitchen window and watched Adams cruiser kick up dust as it exited the farm entrance. The sheriff had never been one of his biggest fans, but now she appeared to think he was just plain loopy.

Jonathan joined his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "Her barks worse than her bite, I'm sure she'll do everything she can."

Clark frowned and turned to look both his parents in the eye. "That's not much when she doesn't know the full story though, is it? I mean where is the person who started all this with the flowers? And why did I get sick last night?"

Martha handed her son a clean shirt. "Sweetheart, sometimes we have to accept that we're not going to get all the answers, no matter how hard we try." The worried mother didn't mention her own concerns. It was better not to upset Clark even further. "What did Pete want?" She asked, changing the subject slightly.

Clark shrugged and buttoned the blue plaid shirt he'd just tugged on. Pete had called earlier right in the middle of Adams interview. Apparently he'd found something out important, but wouldn't say more until Clark and Chloe could join him at the Torch.

"He didn't really say why he called. He wants me to call Chloe and for us to both meet him over at the Torch."

Martha ran a hand over her son's chest affectionately. "Honey, do you think it's safe? We still don't know…" She stifled the urge to carry on. They couldn't suddenly live like hermits because of this thing. Instead she smiled, "Maybe he wants to say a few more farewells before leaving with his mom."

Clark nodded. "Maybe…" Somehow though, he knew this had more to do with Sommerholt, and much less to do with Wichita.

Clark supersped over to the Torch in record time, whipping through local cornfields like some miniature tornado had passed by. As he jogged at a regular pace down the corridor he could see Pete Ross sitting in Chloe's seat waiting for him. Chloe's pc was already booted up and Clark guessed it had been for some time. Pete looked exhausted.

"Hey, have you pulled an all-nighter on your last night in Smallville? Shouldn't you be getting ready to go to Wichita?" Clark scooted around the desk as he noted the bags under his friend's eyes.

"Man, after you called last night telling me what had happened, I decided I wasn't leaving this town with my final Wall of Weird case left unsolved!" Pete grinned playfully and swatted his chum. "Truth is, I didn't want to spend anymore time in the house. The atmosphere was um…"

Clark nodded as he guessed how difficult things must be for Pete. He also couldn't hide his curiosity about what Pete might have discovered. He leaned over, resting an arm on the table. "So, Sherlock, what did you find? If you care to spill before Chloe gets here, that is…"

Pete shook his head. "I _need_ to spill before she gets here. Some of this is about your abilities, or should I say your lack of them last night." As he talked, Pete tapped away at the keyboard almost as lithely as Chloe could. "Man, you're so not gonna believe what I have to tell you though…"

"Oh?" Clark was getting more fascinated by the minute. "Just tell me you've found the mystery flower buyer, Garner has been put away for life with Lionel, and Chloe and I really don't have some horrid bug…" he considered it a moment, "I think I might be asking for too much, huh?"

Pete grinned and pointed at the file he'd compiled over the last few hours. "This all took a whole lot of my time, but here's the gist of it. Turner's were shut down once for supposedly meddling with some kind of alien technology, right?"

"That's what Chloe discovered." Clark winced at the word alien. He still couldn't get used to the idea that he was one.

"Well don't ask how I got this, but this technology involved circuitry so complex it mimicked human cells and thought processes. Highly risky if you ask me…" Pete clicked again and a strange rotating symbol appeared.

To Clark it looked like what Chloe had described on the Turner pc. "You got access to Garner's project!" Clark's mouth dropped open. "How?"

Pete grinned again and tapped the side of his skull. "Let's just say Chloe's not the only one who knows people with hacking skills. You are now looking upon at least some of project 'babysitter'." He crossed his arms triumphantly, and Clark was reminded of the occasion Pete had gone street racing with disastrous results. Sometimes he didn't know when to quit, just like Chloe.

Clark rolled his eyes. "So are you going to tell me, or do I have to super speed read my way through it all before Chloe gets here?"

"To cut a long project short, Garner created something that could manipulate people. Something that even had a mind of its own. I'm guessing the name babysitter was apt because it was meant to keep certain people under its control."

Clark nodded and his eyes widened. "Garner created some kind of synthetic programmable bug! He's been controlling us all along! It must be Kryptonite based…"

Pete couldn't stand the torture he was submitting his friend to any longer and burst out laughing. It wasn't really funny, but then again, it was. Clark and Chloe had been at risk, yes, but not from what they thought. "Man, this thing was never a virus, but I was right in the first place. It was a love bug, just not the kind you were ever thinking of…" More chuckles came and then Pete cleared his throat and tried to be serious as he saw his friend's expression.

"Pete! This isn't funny! Last night I was sick more than once. If it isn't a virus then what is it?" Clark thought about it, and how he seemed to have grown progressively weaker through the night, but hadn't had a bout since the bad guys had caught up with him. "I kept going dizzy and losing my powers right up until Chloe's car got trashed…and it's not as if she had Kryptonite strapped under her passenger sea…" Clark's voice trailed as Pete's idea was suddenly hitting home. He grimaced. "Please tell me you aren't saying what I think you are?"

Pete smirked and then swiveled the monitor so Clark could see the details. Of course it wasn't the actual lab reports, and the wording was cryptic, but babysitter was swiftly making sense. "Chloe's car was your love bug!"

"My car was _what_?" Chloe breezed in and dropped her purse on the table. Getting to school had required some fast talking to borrow Gabe's car after the loss of her own, and he hadn't been too happy about it. She leaned over, scrutinizing what Pete had been working on and then huffed. "You're really not asking me to believe this?"

Pete wasn't put off. "Think about it, Chloe. Garner knew the potential of the human mind was vast and untapped. He also knew this thing could be even bigger because it combined both biological and technological elements. The file speaks for itself!" he swiveled impatiently in his seat, hoping the reporter saw things his way. She wasn't usually put off by amazing discoveries, after all. "He used it to try and discredit you two for Lionel, while checking out how it reacted in public…trouble was I think he got angry when it decided to match-make instead of following his orders. I doubt where he put the 'babysitter' would have been his first choice, but I guess he was in a hurry."

Chloe put a hand on her hip and frowned. "Wait a minute! So, you're saying Turner's, Lionel or Garner, or whoever paid for this put some alien circuitry in my car while I was knocked out? Pete, it's outrageous!"

Clark winced, "Chloe, you were unconscious a long time for no other good reason…" The teen thought it was a crazy theory, but then what wasn't crazy about Smallville? "When the 'babysitter' decided to go AWOL, you think Garner or Lionel sent those goons in?" He crossed his arms and glanced at Pete who for once seemed to be the one with all the answers to the case.

"That's my bet." A sudden look of concern flashed across his normally affable features, "The only thing is, now that the project is gone, what will those two resort too to keep you guys quiet…"

It was a sobering thought, but then both Chloe and Clark had known the risks before they agreed to testify_. I can look after myself, but what about Chloe?_ Clark thought worriedly, _those guys in the van said she was expendable… _

Chloe didn't appear uneasy, despite both her chums' abrupt looks of horror. "Don't worry about me," she said offhandedly as she scowled once again at the 'babysitter' report on the screen. "I still can't get my head around all this." She tapped the monitor case, "Although…remember when those guys were chasing us? My car wouldn't turn down that lane you told me to take… and if I had we'd have driven right into that flood water…"

Clark nodded. Thinking about it there had been several occasions the car had saved the day, and they just hadn't considered it as being possible. _It must have sent the e-mails, including the one to get out of the Torch through Chloe's PDA. The machine played decoy to try and save us!_

"I still don't buy an intelligent car. I prefer the love bug theory any day!" Chloe thought about it. _On the other hand, I really don't like the idea of being infected with something meteor related. Not after that time I got sprayed at Luthorcorp…_

Pete beamed again. "Your car was a VW Beetle, right? So there ya go, a real live love BUG!" He winked, "and since it's gone there have been no more e-mails, and Clark here hasn't sent you any flowers?" he shrugged as if to say case closed.

Chloe bit her lip but still couldn't resist a sarcastic response. "You're likening my car to a Disney movie? Pete, this whole thing was anything but Herbie goes Smallville! I mean those guys meant business. And even if you're right, what do we do now? We can't exactly tell Adams all this, she already thinks we've gone gah gah after last night…"

The petite blonde reporter moved closer to Clark and entwined her arm around his with a huge grin. "By the way, Pete, there is just one slight error in your flawless case…"

"Oh?"

"Clark already bought me flowers again, and this time he delivered them in person!" She winked, "he brought them over last night after his dad had dropped me off…" A frown crossed Chloe's face and she turned to look up into the towering farmboy's already reddening face, "Say, how did you get the roses and get back to my house so fast? And come to think of it, if Pete's right about my car, that means it stopped me making that call for an ambulance somehow…I mean it's the only explanation, but why?" her head cocked to one side and Clark suddenly wished he was somewhere else.

"Um, shouldn't we really be worrying about what Garner of Lionel might do next?" Clark backed up until he reached the Wall of Weird and there was nowhere else to escape to. Then he looked at Pete for much needed help, "Pete, shouldn't you be going to catch up with your mom?"

Pete let his friend struggle for a few seconds, and then stood from the small office chair to 'rescue' Clark. "He's right, Chloe. I really do need to be heading back home. Are you guys coming to see me off properly this time? I kinda left in a rush before. I mean there's very little we can do here, even if what I found out is for real."

Chloe guessed that Pete was side-tracking her, but let it slide. If Clark didn't want to come clean he wouldn't. She knew that from experience. "So, we just let Garner get away to pull this whole deal again? Even if Lionel is eventually convicted, Garner hasn't officially done anything." She pursed her lips in concentration, but nothing came to mind to help.

"Maybe Lex was right…" Clark seemed to suddenly stare into thin air. His pupils appeared to fix on some invisible think outside the window, and he became almost trance-like until Chloe waved a hand in front of his face.

"Lex said what?" She queried.

"He's more than once said I have a messiah complex," Clark stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "I try too hard to save everyone, and solve everything. Maybe we can't always solve things. Maybe we should just let this alone and deal with Lionel. Garner has no reason to bother us if we let it alone. He was just using us for Lionel to see his projects reactions." _I can't let Chloe delve more, she's already in danger. _

Chloe looked at Pete and then back to Clark. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. "So tell me, what planet are you from?"

Clark almost stumbled to the floor with surprise. "Wh..what?"

"Well, first you brought me flowers, now you expect _me_ to not finish this thing to the end? You're not the Clark Kent I know…" Chloe grinned and wondered why he'd gone almost scarlet in the face at her some of her last comments.

"I …I just meant we should finish one thing at a time." Clark winced, "Lionel is our biggest problem. After we testify, then maybe you could do more…"

Chloe grinned. "I'll let it drop for now, if those guys do, and if you promise to buy me flowers every single week! And um…seeing as my 'Herbie' really did go bananas; I might need a ride or two. Dad really won't buy me another car, and he sure won't let me keep using his."

Clark finally let out a sigh of immense relief. "It's a deal, but you have to take up Lex's offer of protection until after the trial, or at least go to the FBI safe house they suggested?"

There was a huff, and for a moment Chloe turned away. In the end though, she could never go against the Kent charm. "I'll go to the safe house until after Lionel's trial, but only if you visit me with those flowers!"

Clark nodded with a smile, and Pete intentionally cleared his throat before things got mushy. "Guys? I really do have to leave now!" There was a tone of sadness in his voice and of worry for his friends, but as he left the Torch office he could have no clue as to what terrible things the next few weeks might have in store for Smallville, Clark, Jonathan, Chloe and Lex.

Epilogue 

Garner really hadn't wanted to work for Lionel again after he'd come out of the coma, but the man had an edge. He had proof that Garner and Turner Enterprises really had stolen 'technologies of unknown origin' from the US government.

The project had been going well until Luthor had interfered, demanding that it be used for his own gains.

The Sullivan girl had been easy enough to lure, and even easier to trap and drug, but the 'babysitter' technology had never really been meant for installation into something as primitive as a vehicle's electronic control systems. Nor had it been meant for use as a tool to manipulate witnesses for the prosecution. It was far too advanced for such lowly tasks.

Garner twirled a pen between his fingers and looked at the screens around him filled with wasted hours of work. The 'babysitter' had cost millions to develop and had been a one of a kind creation- at least that's what some people believed. It was the product of a vastly superior intellect that had once been here on earth, many, many years before man had even thought of an electric light, let alone a self aware A.I.

The basis for the project had been found over twenty years ago, in caves that were not too far from the recently discovered Kawatche caverns. It had taken time to understand, and Garner had not been the original project leader. He had succumbed to insanity long ago. No one had realized why, but Garner knew. What they were tampering with could unleash an untold fury on them, should they tap into its real origins.

He smiled to himself. If Lionel Luthor became too much of a burden, or if the kids in Smallville didn't let things drop, well then he might just pay the Kawatche caves a visit and make a deal with the original and still operating A.I. that dwelled there.

Garner's computer screen blinked with a strange and cryptic message that few people understood. The doctor suspected Clark Kent knew the meaning, but that didn't matter. The message repeated, over and over. _I'm Waiting…I'm waiting…_

The doctor didn't know what the alien thing was waiting for, but he was sure that it must be getting impatient after months of repeating its demand. He tapped the pen on his desktop, letting it slide up and down in his fingers. Finally, he made a decision. After all, if he, a neurologist and psychology expert couldn't make a deal with the thing he had accidentally uncovered, then who could?

Garner stood and tugged off his white lab coat and threw it quickly over his chair. Grabbing a jacket from a nearby coat stand he was in his Jeep in less than two minutes. Even from his new, secret location Smallville wasn't that far away. _Why should I try and recreate 'babysitter' when I can have access to a working example of the same technology?_ Today he would make history. Today, he would make a covert deal with a machine with a far greater intellect and power than any man on earth. Today, Garner would speak with the creation a select few already knew and feared as the entity…Jor-El…

For some, life would never be the same again.

The End


End file.
